Barmouth SUP

SUP is an acronym for stand up paddle boarding and is now one of the most common water sports undertaken in the UK. The waters around Barmouth are ideal for paddle boarding as they are relatively calm, but you do need to know your local tides and ebbs and flows which are relatively dangerous for the unintiated. Luckily for Barmouth, the local Barmouth SUP club is very prominent and well organised. For guests wishing to get involved you just need to contact them a little in advance and they can usually accommodate you. Tripadvisor reviews are rarely as good as those of Barmouth SUP.

Our first venture into paddleboarding was in the super hot early summer period of 2018. We were staying at the newly opened apartments at Bryn Melyn away from the hard work of Penbryn Mynach. We walked by during the food festival and signed up for a taster session. Barmouth SUP claim that “our boards are so stable that most people are standing in less than fifteen minutes! ” Not an unreasonable claim given that Russell managed to get me standing within 3 minutes of drawing up alongside and instructing me. Of course, the kids just stood up straight away but they weren’t so good at the paddling bit. Having stood up the inevitable happened to me quite quickly; a slight overbalance backwards and there was a big splash for the harbour onlookers to enjoy. There is no need to go in and most slightly agile people won’t unless they want to! On such a hot day it was a relief to be so wet and I spent the rest of the day drying off in my t-shirt which kept me at just the right temperature on a very hot day. On a day of more normal weather the provided wetsuits will keep you warm.

View last Tuesday from the tower of Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin over (L to R) All Souls, Queen's, Magdalen and Univ. Nice day in Oxford to celebrate Tommy's 21st. pic.twitter.com/W1ne31BKVx

RT @brynmelyn Due to a cancellation our largest apartment, Noddfa, is now available over Christmas. Sleeping up to 4 people in generous rooms, (one double, one twin) with a large living/dining room and kitchen, this... facebook.com/BrynMelynApart…